Tahlequah, Orca Whale Who Once Grieved Her Stillborn Calf For 17 Days Becomes Mother Again

Sep 07, 2020

In 2018, an Orca whale named Tahlequah broke hearts when the grieving mother was seen carrying around her lifeless calf–for 17 days. 

Now the sea mammal, who is also named J-35, has once again become a mother to a healthy calf, and the world could not be more overjoyed! 

Tahlequah gave birth to her calf last Friday, September 4, according to the Center for Whale Research. 

According to the research center, the calf "appeared healthy and precocious, swimming vigorously alongside its mother in its second day of free-swimming life."

According to the researchers’ estimations based on the approximate 18-month gestation period, Tahlequah must have fallen pregnant in February 2019. However, it was only discovered last July that she was expecting again. 

"Tahlequah was mostly separate from the other whales and being very evasive as she crossed the border into Canada, so we ended our encounter with her after a few minutes and wished them well on their way," the researchers revealed.

Tahlequah first made headlines across the globe in 2018, when the then-grieving mom went on what was dubbed a “Tour or Grief,” swimming with her calf, who had died shortly after being born. She ended up traveling 1,000 miles while carrying her lifeless baby.

"We hope this calf is a success story," the researchers added. "Regrettably, with the whales having so much nutritional stress in recent years, a large percentage of pregnancies fail, and there is about a 40 percent mortality for young calves."

Tahlequah is a Southern Resident whale and lives with her pod in Puget Sound, which lies in the United States’ Pacific Northwest region. These whales were listed as endangered in 2005 by the National Wildlife Federation.

According to the Seattle time, Talequah was discovered to be pregnant again by scientists John Durban, who works for Southall Environmental Associates, and Holly Fearnbach, who is part of the SR3. They made the discovery through the use of drone imaging. 

Are you as happy as we are to find out Talequah has had another baby? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!